Winners announced for North East England Tourism Awards

Wednesday 23/11/2016

Winners announced for North East England Tourism Awards

Tourism businesses from across the North East were celebrated last night (Tuesday 22 November) as the winners for the North East England Tourism Awards were announced at a glittering ceremony held in Newcastle Civic Centre’s Banqueting Hall.

Alfie Joey, BBC Radio Newcastle breakfast show presenter, hosted the awards, which saw five new entrants walk away with gold awards including Battlesteads Hotel & Restaurant who won an outstanding three gold awards on the night.

All that glitters is not just gold. Northumberland businesses also scooped an impressive eight Silver, four Bronze and eight Highly Commended awards.

The full list of Gold winners:

Boutique Accommodation/Small Hotel of the Year-Carraw Bed and Breakfast

Bed and Breakfast of the Year - St Cuthbert’s House

Business Tourism Provider of the Year - Rockliffe Hall Hotel, Golf & Spa

Dog Friendly Business of the Year - South Causey Inn

Guided Tour of the Year - Cullercoats Bike & Kayak

Holiday Park of the Year - Northumbrian Water - Kielder Waterside

Hotel of the Year - Rockliffe Hall Hotel, Golf & Spa

Inclusive Tourism Award - Go North East

Large Visitor Attraction of the Year - Beamish, The Living Museum of the North

Self-Catering Provider of the Year - Mill Granary Cottages

Self-Catering Property of the Year - Woodside Lodge

Small Visitor Attraction of the Year - Bowlees Visitor Centre

Sustainable Tourism Award - Battlesteads Hotel & Restaurant

Taste Award - Battlesteads Hotel & Restaurant

Tourism Pub of the Year - Battlesteads Hotel & Restaurant

Sarah Stewart, Chief Executive at destination management and marketing organisation NewcastleGateshead Initiative, said “Many congratulations to all of this year’s winners. It is always a delight to see so many businesses awarded for their commitment to the North East’s tourism sector.

“The North East of England has a fantastic tourism offer, from the buzz and culture of our cities to the beautiful heritage of our coast and countryside. This is demonstrated by the variety of businesses who have entered and won the awards.

“The next couple of years will be an exciting time for North East England as we build up to the Great Exhibition of the North, which will have a major impact on our visitor, and wider, economy. The Great Exhibition of the North is an opportunity to create a lasting legacy for the region and continue to develop our already strong visitor offer.”

Playing a major role in showcasing the range of high quality tourism businesses and experiences on offer to visitors across the North East, the awards have continued to grow year on year. Of the 143 entries this year, over 60 businesses (42% of entrants) entered the awards for the first time This year also saw the addition of three new categories; ‘Guided Tour of the Year’, ‘Self-Catering Property of the Year’ and ‘Dog Friendly Business of the Year’.

Winners at the regional awards have the chance to showcase their business and the North East on a national stage at the VisitEngland Awards for Excellence 2017.

Andrew Stokes, VisitEngland Director said: “These awards are a fantastic showcase of the quality and sheer diversity of tourism products on offer across the North East of England. They are testament to the passion and commitment of businesses who are working so hard to develop the region’s visitor economy, driving growth from tourism across the country.”

Northumbrian Water continued their support of the awards for the fifth consecutive year, joined by Gateshead College as the headlines sponsors for 2016.

David Hall, Head of Leisure, Strategy & Transformation at NWG said: “The calibre of all entries was first class and I was particularly impressed by the strength of innovation and excellence we have across the North East.

“The region is quite rightly a destination of choice for tourists from across the UK and abroad and the winners have all played an important part in this. From spectacular coastlines, vibrant cities, fantastic heritage sites, to our own breath taking Kielder Waterside there truly is something for everyone to enjoy. My warmest congratulations to all the winners and those shortlisted. We are all immensely proud of this region and should celebrate such success.”

Ivan Jepson, director of business development at Gateshead College, said: “The North East Tourism Awards is a fantastic celebration of all the amazing experiences that our region has to offer and recognises those organisations that really go the extra mile for their guests – well done to all of the winners. We’re also very proud to have had some of our talented students work with NewcastleGateshead Initiative this year to help make the event a huge success.”

The North East England Tourism Awards are organised and delivered by NewcastleGateshead Initiative in partnership with the Northern Tourism Alliance.

The Northern Tourism Alliance is a collaboration of the region’s tourism bodies who work together on projects that will benefit the tourism industry across the region. The founding members of the alliance are NewcastleGateshead Initiative, Northumberland Tourism, Visit County Durham, and The North East Hotels Association. The Awards are also supported by Active Northumberland, South Tyneside Council, North Tyneside Council and Sunderland City Council.

Full list of winners

Boutique Accommodation/Small Hotel of the Year

Carraw Bed and Breakfast - GOLD

The Lindisfarne Inn - SILVER

The Clifton – BRONZE

The Commissioners Quay Inn – HIGHLY COMMENDED

Bed and Breakfast of the Year

St Cuthbert’s House - GOLD

Greycroft B&B - SILVER

The Grange B&B – BRONZE

The Old Manse @ Chatton – HIGHLY COMMENDED

Business Tourism Provider of the Year

Rockliffe Hall Hotel, Golf & Spa - GOLD

Crowne Plaza Newcastle - Stephenson Quarter - SILVER

Event Durham, Durham University - BRONZE

Seaham Hall – HIGHLY COMMENDED

Dog Friendly Business of the Year

South Causey Inn - GOLD

Northumberland Self Catering Cottages Ltd (Mains Cottages) - SILVER

Bracken Hill Farm Cottage - BRONZE

Battlesteads Hotel & Restaurant – HIGHLY COMMENDED

Guided Tour of the Year

Cullercoats Bike & Kayak - GOLD

Serenity Farne Island Boat Tours - SILVER

Victoria Tunnel - BRONZE

Iles Tours – HIGHLY COMMENDED

Holiday Park of the Year

Northumbrian Water - Kielder Waterside - GOLD

Heathergate Country Park - BRONZE

Springhouse Country Park - HIGHLY COMMENDED

Hotel of the Year

Rockliffe Hall Hotel, Golf & Spa - GOLD

Ramside Hall Hotel - SILVER

Battlesteads Hotel & Restaurant - BRONZE

Langley Castle Hotel - HIGHLY COMMENDED

Inclusive Tourism Award

Go North East - GOLD

The Hog’s Head Inn - SILVER

National Glass Centre - BRONZE

Tyneside Cinema - HIGHLY COMMENDED

Large Visitor Attraction of the Year

Beamish, The Living Museum of the North - GOLD

Life Science Centre - SILVER

Sage Gateshead / North Music Trust - BRONZE

Self-Catering Provider of the Year

Mill Granary Cottages - GOLD

Northumberland Self Catering Cottages Ltd (Mains Cottages) - SILVER

The Old Stables Knitsley - BRONZE

Ellingham Hall - HIGHLY COMMENDED

Self-Catering Property of the Year

Woodside Lodge - GOLD

Bracken Hill Farm Cottage - SILVER

Small Visitor Attraction of the Year

Bowlees Visitor Centre - GOLD

Cullercoats Bike & Kayak - SILVER

RSPB Saltholme - BRONZE

South Tynedale Railway - HIGHLY COMMENDED

Sustainable Tourism Award

Battlesteads Hotel & Restaurant - GOLD

St Cuthbert’s House - SILVER

Durham University - BRONZE

Taste Award

Battlesteads Hotel & Restaurant - GOLD

Martineau Guest House - SILVER

Durham University Catering - BRONZE

Colmans of South Shields - HIGHLY COMMENDED

Tourism Pub of the Year

Battlesteads Hotel & Restaurant - GOLD

The Lindisfarne Inn - SILVER

The Angel of Corbridge - BRONZE

The Tankerville Arms - HIGHLY COMMENDED

Published: Wednesday 23/11/2016

By Visit Northumberland

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